High school roundup for Jan. 29, 2019: Peters tops Baldwin, Canon-Mac upsets USC in Section 2-6A

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 29, 2019 | 10:45 PM

Peters Township broke open a close contest with a 17-2 run to start the third quarter and went on to beat Baldwin, 63-46, Tuesday night in a Section 2-6A matchup.

Junior Colin Cote led the charge for the Indians with a 15-point outburst after the intermission break, including 11 in the decisive third quarter.

Cote, a 6-foot-6 guard, connected for five treys overall and finished with a game-high 22 points. He was complemented offensively by senior guard Dax Ploskina with 12 points.

Peters Township, which improved to 4-4 in section play and 12-5 overall, racked up 11 triples in the game, including all six field goals in the third quarter.

Baldwin (7-11, 1-7) was led by sophomore forward Connor Lavelle, who peppered in 13 points.

Canon-McMillan 77, Upper St. Clair 74 — Luke Palma had 23 points, and Drew Engel added 18 as Canon-McMillan (10-8, 4-4) won in Section 2-6A. Luke Gensler scored 22 points for the No. 4 Panthers (17-2, 6-2).

Central Catholic 55, North Allegheny 54 (OT) — Jack Catanzarite had 11 points as Central Catholic (4-13, 2-6) won a Section 1-6A game.

Mt. Lebanon 70, Bethel Park 54 — Jake Hoffman poured in 37 points to guide No. 3 Mt. Lebanon (16-2, 8-0) to a Section 2-6A win.

Seneca Valley 65, North Hills 49 — Mason Bush had 22 points, and Marcus Might had 15 points and 11 rebounds as Seneca Valley (9-8, 4-4) won a Section 1-6A game. Jordan Albright had 22 points for North Hills (5-13, 1-7).

Chartiers Valley 77, West Mifflin 48 — Joe Pipilo had 25 points as Chartiers Valley (14-3, 9-2) won in Section 1-5A.

Montour 60, Thomas Jefferson 42 — After trailing 25-14 in the first quarter, Montour (12-7, 8-3) rallied for a Section 2-5A win. Jaden Nelson had 19 points for the Spartans.

Moon 64, Trinity 38 — Donovan Johnson scored 28 points as No. 2 Moon (18-0, 11-0) rolled to a Section 2-5A win. The Tigers opened a 21-5 lead.

Mars 73, Armstrong 42 — Mihali Sfanos had 20 points as No. 1 Mars (18-1, 11-0) won a Section 3-5A game.

Shaler 57, Hampton 49 — Mekhi Reynolds had 21 points, and Justin DeSabato added 20 as Shaler (13-5, 8-3) picked up a Section 3-5A win.

Elizabeth Forward 76, Waynesburg 67 — Chase Vaughn had 26 points as Elizabeth Forward (6-13, 2-6) won in Section 3-4A. Lucas Garber scored 38 for Waynesburg (9-10, 2-6).

Uniontown 72, Ringgold 57 — Billy Deshields scored 27 points to carry No. 4 Uniontown (13-3, 8-0) to a Section 3-4A win.

Aliquippa 63, Riverside 53 — MJ Devonshire had 22 points, and William Gipson had 17 as No. 2 Aliquippa (12-6, 8-2) won in Section 1-3A.

Lincoln Park 78, Beaver Falls 43 — Keeno Holmes had 19 points as No. 1 Lincoln Park (15-2, 9-1) rolled to a Section 1-3A win.

Keystone Oaks 58, Avonworth 37 — In Section 2-3A, C.J. Morrow had 19 points to lift Keystone Oaks (10-8, 6-3) to victory. Turner Grau had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Avonworth (11-7, 5-5).

North Catholic 82, Fort Cherry 47 — Jackson Paschall had 22 points as No. 3 North Catholic (14-3, 8-1) won in Section 2-3A. The Trojans led 44-21 at halftime.

Serra Catholic 77, California 61 — Jimmy Moon had 26 points and 15 rebounds as No. 2 Serra Catholic (14-3, 10-0) clinched the Section 2-2A title.

Burgettstown 60, Mohawk 43 — Dante Gianfrancesco had 21 points on seven 3-pointers as Burgettstown (8-10, 2-7) won a Section 3-2A game.

South Side 68, Sewickley Academy 64 — Jake McDougal had 35 points as No. 4 South Side (14-5, 7-3) took down No. 3 Sewickley Academy (9-7, 6-3) in Section 3-2A. Isiah Warfield had 35 points for the Panthers.

Cornell 91, Eden Christian 48 — Kaden Divito had 24 points, and Zaier Harrison scored 21 as No. 1 Cornell (17-2, 10-1) won a Section 1-A game.

Latrobe 65, Connellsville 64 — Connellsville’s 3-pointer at the buzzer missed the mark and Latrobe’s perfect run continued in Section 3-6A.

The No. 1-ranked Wildcats withstood a back-and-forth battle with the host Falcons to secure a victory.

Reed Fenton had 27 points, including four 3-pointers, and Bryce Butler added 13 points for Latrobe (15-2, 8-0).

Jalen Rogers had 28 points for Connellsville (7-11, 3-5).

Fox Chapel 52, Norwin 32 — Ryan Kerr scored 16 points in Fox Chapel’s Section 3-6A win. Arnold Vento added 11 points for Fox Chapel (11-6, 6-2). Gianni Rizzo scored 10 points for Norwin (8-9, 1-7).

Penn Hills 90, Greensburg Salem 69 — Wes Kropp had 29 points as No. 3 Penn Hills (16-3, 9-0) cruised to a Section 1-5A win. Dante Parsons scored 42 points, including seven 3-pointers, for Greensburg Salem (8-10, 3-7).

Plum 54, Franklin Regional 49 — Lamar Whiting had 17 points and Connor Moss scored 16 to help Plum (4-14, 4-7) pull an upset at Class 5A No. 5 Franklin Regional in a Section 3 game. The Mustangs raced out to a 15-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 24-16 at halftime. Thomas Merante led Franklin Regional (13-6, 8-3) with 13 points.

Freeport 62, Mt. Pleasant 54 — Jalen Brown had a game-high 29 points to help Freeport (10-7, 4-4) earn a Section 1-4A victory. Aiden Skradski added 11 points for the Yellowjackets. Jacob Johnson led Mt. Pleasant (4-14, 1-7) with 20 points.

Derry 55, Yough 39 — Derry (12-5, 5-3) jumped out to a 25-10 lead and rolled to a Section 1-4A win over Yough (6-13, 0-8).

South Park 65, Belle Vernon 57 — Hunter Lindsay had 17 points to guide South Park (8-10, 5-3) to a Section 3-4A win. Larry Callaway scored 18 points for Belle Vernon (5-14, 2-6).

Southmoreland 72, Charleroi 58 — Riley Comforti had 19 points to lift Southmoreland (11-7, 6-3) to a key Section 4-3A victory.

Jeannette 49, Carmichaels 43 — Jackson Pruitt scored 11 points, and Seth Howard added 10 to lift Jeannette (10-9, 6-3) to a Section 2-2A win.

Monessen 97, Geibel 63 — Marquell Smith had 24 points, and Devin Whitlock and Darnel Howell each had 21 as No. 5 Monessen (11-7, 9-0) won a Section 2-A game. The Greyhounds opened a 27-10 lead.

Apollo-Ridge 51, Summit Academy 40 — Three Vikings scored in double figures in a victory over Section 1-2A leader Summit Academy (9-5, 8-3). Jake Fello led Apollo-Ridge (11-8, 7-4) with 13 points, while Keighton Reese added 11, and Brad Milko scored 10. Jaleel Christian scored 10 points for No. 5 Summit Academy.

St. Joseph 64, Saltsburg 57 — Grant Bendis needed just one point to reach 1,000 for his career, and he easily surpassed the milestone with a game-best 24 in the Spartans’ nonsection victory. Christopher Singleton added 14 points for St. Joseph (14-5), and Andrew Sullivan and Daniel Fábregas scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. John Calandrella scored 16 points, and Dylan Cindric and Dylian Palmer scored 11 points each for Saltsburg.

Indiana 59, Kiski Area 52 — Kyrell Hutcherson had a game-high 16 points, but Kiski Area (4-14, 3-8) dropped a Section 3-5A game. Alec Petroff led four Indiana players in double figures with 14 points. Luke Thomas scored 13 points for the Indians (3-15, 1-10), and Simon Bianco and Owen Dougherty recorded 10 points apiece. Ryne Wallace added 10 points for the Cavaliers.

Propel Braddock Hills 53, Springdale 45 — Chaiem Despert-Johnson scored 17 points as Propel Braddock Hills defeated Springdale in Section 1-2A play. Mekhi Manor added 14 points for Propel (3-14, 3-8). Mike Zolnierczyk scored 21 points, and Demitri Fritch and Ben Myford added 10 apiece for the Dynamos (9-8, 5-6).

Northgate 65, Riverview 56 — The Raiders (6-11, 4-7) fell behind 21-3 in the first quarter and couldn’t recover in a Section 1-2A loss at Northgate (3-15, 2-9). Thanny Black had 15 points for Riverview. Malcolm Randall led the Flames with 32 points.

Harvest Baptist 55, Cheswick Christian Academy 30 — Jerry Vargo led Cheswick Christian Academy (3-14) with 11 points in a Southwest Christian Athletic Conference loss. Gabe Pryor had 16 points for Harvest Baptist and Jacob Tirk scored 11.

Girls basketball

Gateway 53, Hampton 43 – Mary Kromka had 19 points as No. 3 Gateway (15-3, 9-1) won in Section 2-5A.

Franklin Regional 51, Latrobe 37 — Led by Jordan Yaniga’s 20 points, Class 5A No. 5 Franklin Regional (13-4) topped host Latrobe (11-5) in a nonsection game.

Hempfield 56, Penn-Trafford 45 — Hot-shooting Hempfield (8-10) made it two wins in a row as Jessica Persin scored 20 points and Sarah Liberatore added 18 in a nonsection victory. Persin made six 3-pointers, all in the first half without a miss, while the Spartans had 10 3s as a team.

Liberatore scored 12 in the second half, including nine in the third quarter when the Spartans led 41-29.

Bella Long scored a game-high 24 points, including four 3s for Penn-Trafford (10-9), which rallied to tie it 43-43 with 3:45 left before Hempfield closed the game on a 13-2 run. They held the Warriors to three field goals in the final quarter.

Penn-Trafford had won 4 of 5 and fell to 7-2 at home this season.

South Park 40, Belle Vernon 37 — Maura Huwalt’s 23 points lifted South Park (10-1) to a nonsection win. Taylor Rodriguez led Belle Vernon (8-3) with 12 points.

Monessen 49, Geibel 18 — Sydney Caterino had 16 points to guide Monessen (5-12, 4-5) to a Section 2-A victory.

Apollo-Ridge 36, Kiski Area 35 — Maddy Moore sank a free throw with 10 seconds remaining to propel Apollo-Ridge (14-5) to a nonsection win. Moore had 17 points for the Vikings. Hannah Potter led Kiski Area (4-13) with 15 points.

Plum 45, Armstrong 23 — Kennedie Montue scored a game-high 21 points to lift Plum (8-10, 4-5) to an important Section 2-5A win. It pulled the Mustangs to within a half game of Armstrong (9-9, 5-5) for fourth place. Kelsi Zik added 11 points for the Mustangs, who shut out Armstrong, 9-0, in the fourth quarter.

Cheswick Christian Academy 48, Harvest Baptist 18 — Daisy Hamilton scored 12 points as Cheswick Christian Academy breezed to a Southwest Christian Athletic Conference win. Bethany Koser added nine points, and Allyson Drake scored eight points for the Chargers (11-3, 7-1). Katie McCaslin scored nine points to lead Harvest Baptist.

United 50, Ligonier Valley 42 — Mia Lynn had 13 points for Ligonier Valley (3-15, 3-9) in a District 6 Heritage Conference loss.